Central America

Wildlife summit to vote on ‘historic’ shark protections

Photo: Luis Acosta / AFP

| By AFP | Francisco Jara |

A summit on the international trade in endangered species will decide today whether to ratify a “historic” proposal to protect sharks, a move that would drastically restrict the lucrative global shark fin trade.

The proposal would place dozens of species of the requiem shark and the hammerhead shark families on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

That appendix lists species that may not yet be threatened with extinction but may become so unless their trade is closely controlled.

The initiative was one of the most discussed at this year’s CITES summit in Panama, with the proposal co-sponsored by the European Union and 15 countries. The meeting began on November 14, and ends on Friday.

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If Thursday’s plenary meeting gives the green light, “it would be a historic decision, since for the first time CITES would be handling a very large number of shark species, which would be approximately 90 percent of the market,” Panamanian delegate Shirley Binder told AFP.

Shark fins — which represent a market of about $500 million per year — can sell for about $1,000 a kilogram in East Asia for use in shark fin soup, a delicacy.

The vote follows a hectic debate that lasted nearly three hours, with Japan and Peru seeking to reduce the number of shark species that would be protected.

“We hope that all of this will (now) be adopted in plenary,” said Binder.

The plenary will also vote on ratifying a proposal to protect guitarfish, a species of ray.

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Heated debate

Several delegations, including hosts Panama, displayed stuffed toy sharks on their tables during the earlier Committee I debate.

After the heated debate, the request to protect requiem sharks went to a vote, garnering above the needed threshold and calming the waters for the subsequent hammerhead shark debate.

Delegates and directors of conservation organizations, who are observers at the summit, are confident that both proposals will be ratified.

“We hope that nothing extraordinary happens and that these entire families of sharks are ratified for inclusion in Annex II,” Chilean delegate Ricardo Saez told AFP.

‘Extinction crisis’

The world is currently in the middle of a major shark extinction crisis, Luke Warwick, director of shark protection for the NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), told AFP at the beginning of the summit.

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During the committee debate, Japan had proposed that the trade restriction be reduced to 19 species of requiem sharks and Peru called for the blue shark to be removed from the list. However, both suggestions were rejected.

Participants at the summit considered 52 proposals to change species protection levels. CITES, which came into force in 1975, has set international trade rules for more than 36 000 wild species. Its signatories include 183 countries and the European Union.

Related Topics:COP19 Environment Panamá Shark

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Panama Will Not Be Threatened, President Says Amid Rising Tensions With China

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino warned on Thursday that his country “will not allow itself to be threatened,” while expressing hope that tensions with China will ease following the cancellation of a contract allowing a Hong Kong-based company to operate ports along the Panama Canal.

Earlier this week, China, through its Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said Panama would pay “a high price” for annulling the concession that has allowed a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings to manage two ports on the interoceanic waterway since 1997.

The decision has angered Beijing, which, according to Bloomberg, has urged its state-owned companies to suspend negotiations on new projects with the Central American country.

“Panama is a dignified country and will not allow itself to be threatened by any nation on Earth,” Mulino said during a press conference when asked about China’s warnings.

However, the president added that he hopes the situation will not escalate. “I hope this does not spiral further; there is no reason for it to do so,” he said.

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The ruling by Panama’s Supreme Court came amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal—built by the United States—arguing that it is “under Beijing’s control.”

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Central America

Bukele’s Approval Rating Climbs to 91.9% in El Salvador, Survey Shows

Approval of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele reached 91.9% at the end of 2025, up from 85.2% recorded in midyear, according to a survey conducted by the research unit of La Prensa Gráfica (LPG Datos) and published on Thursday.

According to the newspaper, the high approval rating is “mainly driven by improvements in security.” Of those surveyed, 62.8% said they “strongly approve” of Bukele’s performance, while 29.1% said they “somewhat approve.”

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Meanwhile, 5.9% of respondents said they disapprove of Bukele’s administration. Among them, 25.4% said that improvements have been limited solely to security, 5.6% cited a lack of transparency, and 2.8% pointed to arbitrary detentions.

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Regarding campaign promises, 64.2% of Salvadorans believe that Bukele “is fulfilling the promises he made,” while 22.9% say he has “partially fulfilled” them, and 6.6% say he has “not fulfilled his commitments.”

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Central America

Laura Fernández Says She Will ‘Never’ Allow Authoritarianism in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s president-elect, right-wing leader Laura Fernández, said she will “never” allow authoritarianism under her government, in her first speech after winning Sunday’s presidential election.

Fernández, the political heir of outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves, has been accused by her opponents of seeking to steer the country toward authoritarian rule through her hardline proposals against drug trafficking and plans to reform state institutions.

“I, as the new president of the Republic, will never allow authoritarianism or arbitrariness—things that no one wants in Costa Rica,” Fernández said to cheers from her supporters gathered at a hotel in the capital.

The 39-year-old political scientist criticized her rivals for centering their campaign on what she described as a narrative of “authoritarianism and dictatorship.”

“They tried to scare voters, but the electorate did not fall into the trap,” she said.

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Without offering details, Fernández acknowledged that her administration will seek to change the country’s “political rules of the game,” in what she described as a necessary step for Costa Rica, one of Latin America’s most stable democracies.